Prayers of Confession on Listening
Adapted from Leviticus 26:14-46
Pastor: Oh God, we have not listened to you, and we have not walked in all of your commandments. We have spurned your statutes, and our souls have abhorred your laws.
All: I have not followed you in your commandments, and I have broken your covenant. The sin in my heart and in my life has caused panic and heart ache—both in me an in those around me.
Pastor: Even after you have shown us grace and mercy, we have walked contrary to your commandments. We have not listened to you, and we have continued to walk contrary to your direction.
All: I confess that I have sinned; all the generations in my family have sinned. I humble my heart before you, O God. You have kept Your covenant even when I have broken it. Remember me with grace, O Father.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Adapted from Hosea 4
Pastor: “Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”
All: O Lord, our hearts have treasured everything but you. We have delighted in disgusting things, lustful things, angry things, prideful things. Forgive us, O God.
Pastor: Because of our sins, we cry out to you. We remember your goodness, your mercy, and your grace, and we cry out to you.
All: We are undone for lack of knowledge. We have sinned and not been satisfied, done evil and are left wanting. Reconcile us to yourself, we pray, loving Father.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Lord Jesus, we have been slumbering
We have not expected you to be active in our lives
And we have allowed ourselves to be distracted from your love
We have not seen you in the lives of others
And we have thought ourselves more important than them
We have not expected to hear your voice
And we have put our faith in other things and people
Thinking they will save us
Shine your light into the darkness of our hearts once again, Holy Spirit
Wake us from our apathy
Open our ears to hear your word
And our mouths to give you praise
Amen.
Jacob Traeger
Gracious God, we confess that we do not always listen to your calling for us. Instead we carry on with our busy lives, not being mindful of your voice, calling us to live for more than ourselves. Please forgive us for being too busy to hear your voice and help us to listen to you as we silently confess our sins…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
O Holy God, we know we have fallen short.
We turn our backs when we could embrace.
We remain silent when we could speak.
We speak when we could listen.
We close the door when we could fling it wide open.
We judge when we could seek understanding.
We cling when we could give.
Forgive us, O God, for being so very human at times, and help us to continue to grow into the people you created us to be, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we confess that we often fill our lives with noise that obscures our ability to hear your voice. We do not even realize how many opportunities you give us to see your glory and to glorify you. Help us to have open ears, and turn our hearts and thoughts toward you so that we may praise you and receive your gifts. Hear our confession as we continue our prayers in silence…
Submitted by Allen Thompson
Father God, you come to us in the everyday. You give us your Word and your Spirit that we might hear your voice, and follow your ways. We confess that we have neglected your words to us and pretended that you are not even in the room. Hear our confession, help us to listen, to see, and to live as you have called us to live.
Submitted by Laura Murray
Father God, you see us; you have compassion; and you care for your greatest creation – people. You have also called us to notice, to listen, and to love others. Yet in our selfishness, we have ignored those before us and we have rushed past those who have needed us. Gracious God, meet us and heal us that we might be the light of love you are calling us to be.
Submitted by Laura Murray
Gracious God, the noise of this world drowns out the beauty of your voice. You invite us to listen, but we deny you time and space. Forgive us for ignoring you. Create in us the desire to listen to your words of truth, hope, and love that we might then share these words with others.
Submitted by Laura Murray
Loving and grace-filled God, we confess that it is difficult to keep you first in our lives. There are so many urgent demands on us that we find it hard to focus ourselves on you. The culture around us sends so many mixed messages that it is hard to listen to your still small voice. We get distracted and find ourselves further and further from the abundant life you want to give us. Forgive us, O God, for these and all of our sins, as we confess in silence…
Silent Prayer
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Loving God, you spoke the earth into motion. Your words have that much power. So instead of continuing to speak to you, we silence ourselves Please show us our sins and forgive us for them as we listen to your still small voice in this time of silence…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Dear Lord, we worship You as our God and King, as the One true God, as the faithful Guardian of our souls. We come to You in this time of worship to stop, to breathe, and to listen. We want to open our hearts to You and share the secrets we keep, our sins, and our lack of faith. We lay it all out before You. We confess that we have sinned and are in desperate need of You, Jesus, our Redeemer. We have followed the enticing idols offered by the world instead of worshiping You alone. In the safe place of prayer, Lord, hear our hearts speak. We are sorry; please forgive us. Holy Spirit, come inside our hearts and transform us by Your love and forgiveness. Fill us with Your grace and hope. In the Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Looking for More Liturgical Elements?
Check out our Calls to Worship on Listening.